Equilibrium
by YamiAkane97
Summary: A night of unexpected passion results in something no one thought possible, and eventually the beginning of a whole new relationship between a certain swordsman and cook. Zoro x Sanji, Mpreg, yaoi.
1. Beginnings

_**Disclaimer: **__**I do not own One Piece or any of the characters. One Piece is the property of Eiichiro Oda and Toei Animation. **_

_**Note: **__**This fanfiction is set after the two year time skip, following the crew in the new world after fish Man Island.**_

_[Chapter One: Beginnings.]_

{*}

Sanji was just taking a break from the dishes when Zoro came into the kitchen. He threw Sanji a heated glare before taking a seat at the table. Sanji watched while he smoked as the swordsman positioned the chair to face the kitchen before stretching his legs out and crossing his arms. With another pointed glare in the cook's direction, he said at a length, "We need to talk."

Sanji only exhaled smoke through his open mouth. He eyed the swordsman from where he stood with his back against the counter. His mouth moved around the cigarette he held between his lips as he mumbled, "Yeah, I'm listening."

Zoro said nothing for a moment, only biting at his bottom lip. With a sigh, he unfolded his arms and leaned forward in his chair, effectively hanging his head.

"What does this make us now?"

Sanji continued to watch him. His hand moved to his mouth to take out the cigarette, using it as a cover for the silence. He fingered the cancer stick between two fingers.

"Nothing." He said, not looking at the swordsman any more, but looking at the cigarette in his hand. "It means nothing at all."

He could feel Zoro's glare, so he added, "Did you want it to mean something?"

"No, but I thought you'd at least feel something. Maybe slight attraction, maybe be a little embarrassed, I dunno. You're acting as though nothing has happened at all."

Sanji couldn't help but smirk when he heard that. He rolled his eyes for Zoro to see and glared right back at him. "Attraction? Embarrassment? You shouldn't flatter yourself, shitty swordsman, it's not a good look for you. You seriously thought I'd _feel _something?"

Zoro looked away this time, a blush working spreading from his neck to colour his cheeks. "I thought that you'd be in hysterics, being straight and all."

Now Sanji couldn't help but laugh. "This isn't a question of my sexuality, you arsehole, and why would you care if I suddenly started liking men? Like I said, this meant nothing to me, so in my eyes I'm completely straight."

Zoro frowned at that, probably because he was unable to follow that kind of logic, but said nothing about it.

"Besides, I'm sure you've at least heard of one night stands before." Sanji continued, taking another puff of his cigarette, "I know for a fact that you're no saint."

Zoro growled, "I never claimed to be, stupid cook."

The cook could tell that the swordsman's temper was rising, and with only a few pushes on some of his buttons, Sanji knew he could get a rise out of Zoro. It wasn't exactly hard, given how hot tempered he could get at times.

"And yet, here you are, asking about how I _feel_." Sanji sneered, feeling his own temper rising.

"Damn it, I was just asking where we stood, you fucking shit arse cook!" Zoro shouted, now standing. He was glaring at Sanji with his one eye like he wished for nothing more than to send the cook into the deepest pits of hell.

Sanji almost shouted back at Zoro, but held himself back. Normally, he'd love nothing more than to spit out insults and mock the shitty swordsman, but this was more serious than them arguing while fighting an enemy. He sensed that anything he said here and now could possibly permanently damage their already extremely frail relationship. He didn't necessarily hate Zoro, and he could hardly tolerate the guy, but for the sake of their captain and crew, they tolerated each other.

"Look," he sighed, tapping off the ash from the end of his cigarette, "It was nothing more than casual sex. Just brush it off and pretend it didn't happen and we can go back to our mutual hatred of each other."

Zoro seemed to visibly calm at that, probably not expecting Sanji to pass up the opportunity to start an argument. The heated tension deflated, and he frowned at the cook.

"Pretend it never happened?" he parroted.

"Yeah, you go about ignoring me, and I'll do the same."

Zoro said nothing after that, just stared at him with a frown. Sanji waited for him to say more, but the green haired swordsman just shrugged.

"If that's how you want it."

"Would you want it any other way, honestly?" Sanji asked, not moving from his position beside the sink.

Zoro threw him a fleeting glance as he made to leave and smirked, "Of course not. Who'd want anything to do with you, shit cook?"

Sanji was about to shout back when Zoro shouted, "Oi, and if you tell anyone about this, I'll cut you up so bad, not even your own mother would be able to recognise you!"

He growled and muttered under his breath, "Please, telling anyone I slept with such an ugly mug like yourself would be social suicide."

{*}

Two weeks later and Sanji found himself crawling out of bed in the middle of the night. For hours now, he'd been lying in bed staring at the top bunk while trying to ignore the growing feeling of nausea in his lower abdomen.

For the past two days now, he'd been trying to dismiss the nausea he'd been feeling. He wanted to put it down as food poisoning, but he'd eaten nothing but his own cooking during their entire time spent sailing from their last island. He was confident in his abilities as a cook to not have given himself food poisoning, so he didn't think it could be that. Besides, none of the other members of the crew had shown any symptoms of food poisoning as far as he could tell. He'd contemplated seeing Chopper about the issue, but the more prideful part of him had stopped him. It would be pointless to bother his friend about something as minor as stomach issues. Unless it progressed into something serious, he wouldn't bother the little reindeer.

The snores coming from the rooms other occupants went undisturbed as he crept out as quickly as he could and raced to the bathroom in the dark. He silently cursed Franky for turning the lights in the corridor's off at night as he stumbled along.

Once in the bathroom, he locked the door and dropped to his knees and slung his head down into the toilet bowl. He felt his stomach tighten and convulse as he threw up the remains of the dinner they'd only eaten a few hours ago.

Dizziness swept over him, and he felt himself sway a little in time with the rocking of the ship. He dropped his head down to rest on the side of the bowl, breathing in slow, deep breaths.

What the hell was wrong with him, he wondered.

He tensed and felt suddenly too hot and clammy. Sweat shone on his forehead as his body prepared itself before he threw up again.

He groaned into the bowl and slumped down, waiting for the nausea to pass. He didn't have to wait long. After a few more deep breaths, he felt the nausea drain away, leaving him feeling exhausted and spent.

A loud knock sounded on the door, and he inwardly seethed at the person who dared to disturb him while he felt this crap. Slowly, he got shakily to his feet and whipped off any lingering traces of vomit on the back of his wrist. Another knock echoed, and he growled through clenched teeth "Just a second."

Opening the bathroom door revealed a sweaty looking swordsman, who raised an eyebrow at Sanji's appearance. Sanji concluded that he must have been training and heard Sanji vomiting.

"You alright, shit cook? I could hear your puking from outside." Zoro asked, a slight smirk tugging at his lips.

"Just peachy, thanks." The cook muttered while making to move past the green haired brute before him. But Zoro blocked his escape, his smirk coming in full force now.

"You sound really sick, shit cook. Maybe you should go see Chopper, in case you gave yourself food poisoning."

Sanji seethed, "Bastard! This isn't food poisoning!" he tried again to get past the swordsman, only to have his path blocked yet again. "Don't doubt my cooking skills, you shitty marimo!"

Zoro was now grinning, "Wow, Princess, I didn't realise you were so sensitive about your shit arse cooking." He then raised an eyebrow while still smiling, "And if it's not food poisoning, then what is it?"

"I don't know, do I look like a doctor you, arsehole?!"

"What the hell is going on here?" came another voice from behind Zoro. The two turned to see Nami standing there, arms crossed and dressed in nothing more than her night gown. She was scowling at the both of them and ignoring Sanji as he cooed, "Nami-swan!"

"Do the two of you have any idea what time it is?" She hissed, her eyes promising a painful death.

"Relax, sea witch, we were just heading to bed now anyways." Zoro said, rolling his eye and moving out of Sanji's way.

Sanji wanted to hit him for insulting a woman, but Nami's glare held him back. She was right, it was late and they'd probably woken her up.

"I'm sorry for waking you up, Nami-swan. I'll make sure this bastard goes straight to bed." Sanji told her while smiling. Nami smiled back and turned around, but not before shooting them both another glare, warning them to keep quiet.

True to his word, the two went in silence to the boy's room. It wasn't until they were both under the covers of their bed's that Zoro spoke up from within the darkness of the room. Sanji couldn't see him, but he could feel the other man's eyes watching him.

"I meant what I said, shit cook. You should go see Chopper tomorrow."

Sanji rolled over and glared at the wall. "Yeah, whatever."

He chose to ignore the slight amount of concern laced in with Zoro's words. He didn't feel like reading too much into the shitty swordsman's words.

{*}

"Did you even listen to what I said the other night about seeing Chopper?" Zoro asked sharply, his voice betraying the irritation he must have felt. Sanji's head rested on the toilet bowl again, breathing in harshly while Zoro leaned back against the sink with folded arms and a scowl.

"Shut up, moron." Sanji moaned, "It's probably just food—" Sanji threw up once more, his hands gripping the side of the bowl until they turned white from the pressure. He felt his body begin to tremble.

"Did you want me to go call Chopper?"

"_No._ He'll only worry." Sanji muttered while shaking his head.

Zoro only shrugged, "It's kind of his job, remember?"

"Remind me again why you're here?" Sanji snapped.

From where he knelt, he could see the swordsman's shoulders tense as he prepared to defend himself. "I'm here because this is the second night in a row that I've been on watch and heard you throwing your guts up." The man bit back.

Now Sanji scowled and turned his head so that he was facing the almighty pain in his arse, not at all ashamed to let him see how his body was still shaking and trying to recover from the nausea.

"I never asked you to come check on me, stupid swordsman." He hissed.

"Then why the hell did you let me in?" Zoro threw back, apparently not caring in the slightest that his voice was beginning to rise.

But that was a good question, Sanji thought to himself. Why did he let him in, when he could have just told him to leave? A part of him reasoned that this was probably because if he did need Chopper, someone would have to go get him because even now he was struggling to stand.

"I don't know, stupid." He said instead.

The swordsman just grunted and unfolded his arms, not looking in the direction of the cook. His hand came up to his face and he rubbed at his forehead wearily.

"This is stupid," Zoro sighed, "Just tell Chopper. He's not going to mind."

But that wasn't why he didn't want to tell the crew's doctor. He was too proud of his own culinary skills to admit to anyone, including their doctor, that he may have given himself food poisoning. Even if it wasn't that, Sanji was also proud of his current record of avoiding illness. He rarely got sick, and it would defiantly be bothersome to have Chopper fuss over him about something so trivial.

His body tensed again, and he felt a familiar feeling of nausea build up in his stomach before he vomited, his unfocused eyes taking note of how Zoro shifted uncomfortably, eye fixed on the wall to his right.

"Why are you so worried?" He croaked when he was done vomiting up what felt like his left kidney. "You've been acting weird these past few weeks."

Zoro's eye narrowed, but didn't leave the wall. From what Sanji could see, he was biting his lower lip.

Sanji gave a shaky chuckle and pressed his forehead into the side of the bowl. "Don't tell me you're still not over that whole sex thing, you stupid Marimo."

Finally Zoro looked at him, sucking in his lower lip before slowly releasing it. "No, I'm not."

Sanji sighed into the toilet bowl and stood up, using the side of the bowl again for support. He whipped the vomit on the back of his sleeve and flushed, taking deep breaths as he did so.

"I can't 'get over' it, Sanji." Zoro said sharply, "Other times with other people, it was different. I didn't have to see them every single fucking day afterwards. Normally it's a quick fuck and that's all I hear from them."

"Well, you probably should have thought of that in the first place, before fucking me." Sanji growled and indicated with his hand for the swordsman to move. He seriously needed to brush his teeth after that episode.

"You know damn well that I wasn't in my right mind," Zoro said from his new place by the window, making himself comfortable against the wall. "And if I remember correctly, neither were you."

Sanji echoed, "Remember correctly?"

Zoro's scowl deepened, "Yeah, and you weren't complaining either."

Sanji felt himself snap after that comment, but rather than go into a full blown rage and exchange blows with the swordsman, he seethed "I doubt you would have stopped even if I had, you fucking brute."

Zoro raised an eyebrow. When he spoke, his voice came out calm, but shook with undeniable rage. "Are you calling me a rapist?"

Sanji stood his ground and put his toothbrush away, glaring at the swordsman through the mirror he said very quietly, making sure to meet his eyes squarely, "If the shoe fits."

He heard the other man's snarl of rage before he saw his fists. Turning around quickly, he dodged the first punch, but failed on the second.

Zoro's fist made contact with his cheek, and Sanji saw stars. He backed away against the door, preparing for a third punch, but it didn't come.

Zoro stood opposite to him with a murderous expression on his face and fists still raised. "Don't," he growled, "Ever call me that again."

He walked past Sanji after that and shoved him aside none too gently, opened the door and slammed it closed. Probably waking up the whole ship in the process.

His cheek stung, but he knew he deserved it. As angry as he was, he had no right to call Zoro that. They were supposed to be Nakama, no matter what. And although they always argued, he couldn't recall a time where Zoro had ever hit him so hard.

Shit, he thought as he grasped the basin of the sink for support. He'd really messed up there. But some dark, satisfied voice in his head told him that it was for the best. That maybe now, Zoro would leave him alone and keep his _feelings_ to himself.

Why couldn't that idiot grasp the concept of a one night stand?

{*}

Another week later, and he was still throwing up.

They'd finally arrived at a new island in the early hours of the morning, meaning that the whole crew was awake and lively as they chatted excitedly about what the new island might have. Most of them, except for Sanji.

He still hadn't seen Chopper, and Zoro hadn't bothered him about it since they'd fought. He stood on the second floor, leaning forward on the railing and taking a drag of a freshly lit cigarette. One arm was propped up on the railing for support, the other was nursing his stomach.

But nobody paid attention to him, which he was grateful for. They were too busy with the preparation for the island. He knew he should get started on an early breakfast- especially for the girls- but for once he couldn't find any motivation for it.

This was lasting too long to be simple food poisoning.

He was tired all the time now too, finding simple tasks like cooking exhausting. Certain smells had caused him to wind up in the bathroom again, face pressed against a toilet bowl. And he was always feeling too damn hot, no matter what clothes he wore.

The rest of the crew was beginning to notice.

His roommates complained that he made the bedroom too hot, and that they needed to open the window to cool the room down. Sanji would complain in the middle of the night though, sounding whiney—and he knew it. But it was insane! One moment, he'd be freezing cold and the next he'd be boiling hot. His emotions jumped too, as Robin once pointed out to him. He'd be snappy, then completely calm, then upset over random things….

It was just too weird.

Even Luffy had asked him if he was feeling alright one day, when he'd served the Captain a drink he'd normally make only for the girls. Realising his mistake, he snapped at his Captain and told him he felt fine and that if he didn't want the drink he should have just said so.

He grimaced out of his musings when his stomach gave a rather uncomfortable lurch.

Chopper had been watching him too, he'd noticed. But the little doctor didn't say anything. He was probably waiting for Sanji to come to him first. And that only made Sanji feel guilty. He was being a burden on his crew. A liability. God, if it wasn't for his food he'd sware Luffy would just send him packing.

He inwardly groaned. He was being stupid now, Luffy wouldn't send him away just because he was being too emotional. He knew his Captain better than that.

He exhaled some smoke before throwing the cigarette on the floor and stamping on it. Franky could yell at him later for it if he wanted to. He didn't give a damn at this point.

"Oi, Shit cook, you gonna come help out or just stand there?" Zoro called out from where he was hauling boxes.

"One of these days, I'm going to kick you so hard you'll cough up a lung, arsehole." Sanji warned, but Zoro only smirked and went on his way.

As he made his way down the steps, he saw Chopper walk past with an arm full of medical supplies- presumably on his way to the infirmary to see what he'd need to stock up on.

"Hey, Chopper," He stopped the little reindeer, "Could I come talk to you later? It's about something…" He glanced away nervously, a slight blush colouring his cheeks, "You know, personal."

The little doctor's eyes lit up at this, and he smiled warmly up at him. "Of course you can, Sanji! Once we dock, I'll make sure to take a good look at you!" he promised, then continued on to the infirmary.

Sanji felt like he should point out that he hadn't mentioned anything about a check-up, but it was too late to do so anyway.

True to his word, after Sanji had made them all an amazing breakfast and they'd docked on the island that looked kinda like a tourist destination city, Chopper had guided Sanji into his infirmary to take a look at him.

"I won't lie to you Sanji," Chopper began as Sanji took a seat on the edge of the infirmary bed, "I've noticed you weren't acting right these past few days."

Sanji shrugged, "I didn't want to bother you. I just thought it was food poisoning."

Chopper frowned, "You wouldn't have bothered me, Sanji! It's my job to take care of you when you're feeling sick!" he scolded firmly, causing Sanji to wince slightly.

"Yeah, I know…"

"It doesn't matter now," Chopper sighed and pulled out an instrument Sanji knew was to check his blood pressure. "What matters is that you came to me eventually, right?"

Sanji just nodded, not sure of what else to say.

"So what seems to be wrong?"

Sanji explained his troubles to the reindeer, who listened with rapt attention. He frowned at the mention of mood swings and the rise and fall of the temperature, and even cocked his head to the side when he mentioned fatigue.

When he was done, the doctor didn't say anything for a moment, just studied Sanji with a critical eye.

"How long has this been going on for?" Chopper questioned seriously, turning around and extracting a syringe from a drawer. Sanji eyed it warily.

"I dunno, three to four weeks maybe?" he offered up, his eyes focused on his friend, watching for a reaction. The doctor's frown only deepened.

"Four weeks?" he echoed.

Sanji nodded.

"Huh. Alright then, I'll take your temperature and see if there's any fever." Chopper murmured and set the syringe on a tray beside the bed. He proceeded to hand Sanji a thermometer and instructed him to place it under his arm. In less than two minutes, it beeped and Chopper read the temperature out loud.

"37 degrees Celsius, so no fever then." The doctor remarked.

Sanji thought that was odd, generally linking sickness to fever. He'd thought the hot and cold spells he'd been suffering would mean he at least had a mild fever.

After five minutes, Sanji had his blood pressure tested, his heart monitored and his weight taken. When it was all done, Chopper sat down in a chair opposite him with a firm frown fixed on his face.

"You seem physically healthy, but that doesn't explain why you feel so sick." The reindeer sighed, closing his eyes briefly. "I couldn't see any bloating, and you haven't had any constipation?"

Sanji blushed at Chopper's bluntness, but shook his head. Chopper sighed again.

"I'm going to have to take a blood sample. The results will only take a few hours."

"Alright, you're the boss."

He only flinched slightly when the syringe pricked his arm, but it was more out of habit than pain. When it was over, he couldn't talk the child like doctor out of sticking a bright yellow band aid over the puncture wound.

"I'll come get you in a few hours, okay?" Chopper chirped happily, all seriousness of the matter washed away in an instant, leaving Sanji smiling softly.

"Sure thing."

He spent the hours after that shopping with the crew on the island, Zoro having been left behind to watch the ship. But secretly Sanji suspected Nami had planned this in case the moss head got lost in the huge city. He helped the girls carry their items and found out from them that the Mayor of the town had no issue with them staying for the next few days, providing there was no trouble.

He also grabbed some much needed kitchen and food supplies, stocking up for what seemed to be a year when in reality it would probably only last them a few weeks with Luffy's stomach.

They didn't return until dusk, where Sanji happily watched the sun set as he walked back with the girls. No doubt everyone else was already back, and Chopper would have the results of the blood test back and be able to tell him what was wrong with his body. His mood had been greatly lifted by that prospect, and by the fact that not once since this morning had he thrown up.

He helped the others—mainly the girls—put away their supplies before heading over to the infirmary to see Chopper.

"Ah, you're back!" Chopper exclaimed when he saw him, shifting nervously in his chair.

Sanji's eyes didn't miss this. Chopper looked uncomfortable and wouldn't stop fidgeting. Most importantly, he wasn't looking Sanji in the eyes.

"Something wrong, Chopper?" He asked casually, again taking his place on the edge of the bed and leaning back against the wall so only his feet jutted out the side.

"Wrong? No! Why would anything be wrong, Sanji?" The reindeer laughed nervously, something else Sanji didn't miss. "I think you're just imagining things!"

Sanji frowned, tempted to light a cigarette up just to have something to do with his hands. Instead, he folded his arms.

"You're acting weird. Just tell me if I'm dying or not so you can treat me, idiot." Sanji didn't like the way Chopper was acting. If something was seriously wrong, surely Chopper could fix it. He tried to keep his voice even, but just the shred of concern for his own health mingled within his words.

Sanji watched as Chopper's face dropped, abandoning all false pretence it once held. Chopper scratched his head nervously, but looked at Sanji squarely.

"I have a theory, but it's completely ridiculous." Chopper told him. "I'm going to need to take another blood sample and then I can confirm if I was right or not."

"Go ahead then." Sanji shrugged and pulled up his sleeve on his other arm, the one without a bright yellow Band-Aid. "Are you going to tell me what your theory is?"

Chopper shook his head and kept quiet. Sanji didn't press any further, feeling sick at the thought of how serious Chopper was being.

With a green Band-Aid fixed on his other arm, mirroring the yellow one, he continued to watch as Chopper took away the sample and dismissed him, too fixed on the new sample to pay Sanji any more attention. Which was fine with the cook. But just before he left, he felt a little hoof take hold of his arm.

"Wait a second, Sanji." Chopper said, "I just want to ask you a favour."

Sanji shrugged, "Yeah?"

Chopper hesitated and bit his lower lip for a second. He didn't look at Sanji when he said, "No more smoking."

Sanji froze and stared down at the little doctor, who didn't even come up to his waist. "What do you mean 'no more smoking'?"

Chopper shuffled his feet on the hard wooden floor, looking more like a little kid than ever. But that didn't save him at all from Sanji's rising frustration.

"I mean, no more smoking. I think it's linked to your…" Chopper shuffled his feet some more, "Illness…"

Wonderful. Just what he needed on top of being sick—no more smoking.

"Fine, if you think it's linked then I'll stop." Sanji said after a moment, trying to dispel the frustration. It wasn't Chopper's fault that he was sick, it was probably his own.

"Come see me after dinner or before bed, okay? I should have the results then."

He just nodded, not trusting himself to speak without saying something he didn't mean.

{*}

**A/N: Hello, readers! I've never written a fanfic for the One Piece fandom, but I've recently gotten into the series again and I love it. Especially Zoro x Sanji. So please, bear with me and help me out if I make any mistakes.**

**If you have any issues with Mpreg, Yaoi or graphic birth/ graphic sex- please leave unless for some reason you wish to read it. I don't want flames, only constructive criticism.**

**With that out of the way, thank you for reading! I can't promise regular updates, as I'm a very busy person. **

**Please leave a review on your way out if you liked the story so far. **


	2. Small Fractures

_**Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece. One Piece belongs to Eiichiro Oda and Toei Animation.**_

**Please thank ****RejectiontheHedgie ****for betaing this chapter. She helped out a lot!**

_[Chapter two: Small Fractures]_

_{*}_

"You think I'm w_hat?"_ Sanji demanded, watching as the little doctor winced under his fierce glare. But Sanji was beyond caring at this point. What Chopper seemed to have failed to understand during whatever medical education he'd taken, is that it was physically impossible for that to ever happen.

"Look, I know you don't like it, but test results don't lie!" The reindeer said firmly, waving a sheet of paper in front of Sanji's face. "I thought I was going crazy when I first saw it too, believe me. I almost went to ask Robin if she could double check them for me."

Sanji's initial response was to protest again, because there was no way that he could actually be pregnant. Of all the illnesses in the world, all the diseases and viruses, pregnancy was the last thing he would have concluded. But sitting in Chopper's little infirmary in the reindeer's favorite swivel chair, having his own blood tests shoved in front of his face and a frantic looking reindeer was what he got.

Sanji slouched on his stool, effectively hanging his head and draping his arms over his long legs. "Chopper," He said slowly, very softly so not to hurt the doctor's feelings, "There's just no way I could be pregnant, I'm sorry. Males physically _can't _get pregnant. It's literally impossible."

"But it's not!" Chopper exclaimed, looking pleadingly at Sanji and moving to grasp his hands firmly. "It's just really, really rare! There hasn't been a case like this in hundreds of years, because most men can't give birth. Sanji, I think this condition could even be genetic! Maybe one of your ancestors had the ability to-

"Just stop it, okay?!" Sanji shouted and was on his feet in a second, knocking over the swivel chair he'd been sitting on. He easily towered over his friend, who's big eyes widened when he realized he'd upset his patient. His voice shook as he said angrily "Look, Chopper, I don't care about how rare it is or-or how there hasn't been anything like this in years or even about my damn ancestors, alright? There is no why in hell that I'm pregnant."

He barely realized that he was breathing heavily, taking in sharp, ragged breaths of air while his friend watched him. Nausea rolled through him ever so suddenly, making him momentarily forget his anger and focus on it. The pale blue tiles beneath him seemed to disappear from his view momentarily and he realized he must have screwed his eyes shut. Inwardly, he refused to acknowledge it as morning sickness.

"Chopper, I think I'm going to-"

Chopper must have realized what was happening and had already cut across the room and back with a bucket. He thrust it into Sanji's arms and watched as the cook proceeded to vomit into it, the sounds of it hitting the bottom of the bucket making the doctor cringe.

When Sanji opened his eyes when he was done and took the tissue Chopper helpfully offered out to him.

"it's not-" He rasped out, instantly hating the burning feeling in the back of his throat. "-Morning sickness."

"Alright, Sanji. Whatever you say." Chopper replied, unable to meet his intimidating glare. "But just let me warn you, there is no other explanation. And sooner or later, you're going to have to come to terms with this."

If looks could kill, Chopper would be flayed alive in a pool of his own blood right about now. Without another word, Sanji retreated from the room. The cool night air that greeted him was surprising, but not unpleasant. He felt too hot. Almost trapped, like there wasn't enough air.

Pregnant.

Chopper had said he was pregnant.

From the second floor of the ship, he could see the crow's nest from where he stood. It only took a single glance at it to remind him of one very important detail.

If he really, truly was pregnant like Chopper said, than that would make Zoro the father.

Sanji felt sick again. And he wasn't sure it had anything to do with his illness.

{*}

He really needed to smoke.

Only problem was, every time he lit one, Chopper would magically appear out of seemingly nowhere and send him the most disapproving look Sanji had ever seen the little reindeer give.

He now stood at the railing near the main mast of the ship, again watching the sunset. The golden light it emitted bathed him in a rich yellow glow and turning the ocean a buttery amber. This would be the perfect time for a smoke, he thought to himself regretfully. A whole day had passed since his visit with Chopper, and he hadn't brought it up to anyone since.

He'd spent a majority of the early morning vomiting, but thankfully no one in the crew had seemed to notice. After that, he carried on with his day as though nothing was wrong. Besides the absence of his daily nicotine hit.

Luffy had been the first of the crew to notice his withdrawal symptoms. Sanji had caught the captain sneaking into the kitchen an hour after breakfast had ended, attempting to get a snack without the cook noticing. Without fully intending to, Sanji had angrily kicked the Captain though the kitchen window, sadly shattering it, and out into the sea. It'd been Zoro, who'd seen his captain's body sailing through the air and was used to him falling overboard at random times, who went to retrieve him. Sanji had then been treated to a stern lecture from Nami and a dark scowl from the swordsman afterwards, but Luffy seemed to have taken the hint and stayed away.

And all day, he'd been swearing at random things that irritated him. Slight things, which normally wouldn't bother him sent him into a full blown rage. Just little things, like Brook suddenly cracking a joke, or Usopp practicing his sniper skills within range of Sanji's view. Even once, he'd snapped at Nami, which earned him a smack across the head and reduced him to a puddle of apologies.

But not once did a cigarette ever meet his lips.

He'd deny until he was black and blue that it had nothing to do with Chopper's 'Theory' that he was pregnant. Even to himself, he refused to acknowledge it. But every time his finger's reached into his pocket's to extract a cigarette, the constant thoughts of 'what if..?' plagued him until he pulled his hand back out and tried to distract himself.

It was extremely frustrating.

Because if it turned out that he was pregnant, he wasn't going to risk his child's health with his unhealthy habit. Even if the kid was part shitty swordsman.

"So, did you end up seeing Chopper?" Came a voice from behind. Sanji turned his head around, already knowing who it was from the voice, but wanting to glare at the man anyways.

"That's none of your business, moss head." Sanji growled and turned back to the sunset, crossing his arms over the white railing. He heard the swordsman grunt and felt him walk closer towards him until he was standing beside him, copying his stance.

"It's just a question, shit cook. No need to get so defensive." Zoro replied airily, a small smile gracing his features. Sanji was instantly suspicious. Zoro was acting too nice, well, too nice for him. Normally they'd already be arguing by now. Not having a civil conversation.

Again, Sanji wished for a cigarette. He wasn't in the mood to read into Zoro's strange behavior. And he doubted that he ever would be. His fingers twitched and curled, which Zoro must have noticed.

"Not smoking today, huh?" he asked, that small smile slowly growing and now accompanied by a raised green eyebrow. "That's a new one for you."

"Oh, just go fuck off and play with your gym set." Sanji bit out harshly, feeling irritation settle in firmly and quickly escalating to full blown anger. But Zoro didn't seem to notice, or he chose to ignore it.

"You've been real pissy today, ya know?" The swordsman commented dryly. "Haven't you smoked at all today? Hell, poor Luffy almost died today because of your attitude."

Sanji's anger spiked harshly. He turned away from the setting sun to fully glare at his rival, who just met his glare with an even stare. "There's nothing 'poor' about that idiot captain of ours!"

Zoro rolled his eye "So what did Chopper say?" Zoro questioned in a light, casual tone, still looking at Sanji but with his body turned toward the sun. "You did go and see him, right?"

"So what if I did?"

Zoro shrugged and his one good eye glances over to the sun, squinting slightly against their harsh rays of light. "Just curious. You seemed really sick. You never get sick." The eye snaps back over to him, gauging a reaction.

That was true. Both Sanji and Usopp had once claimed that they'd never been sick before, and didn't know what it was like. Now that he knew, he wished he'd never been given the opportunity to find out.

Sanji was silent for a moment, opting to look at the sun as well. "Yeah..." He said quietly, "Yeah, I went and saw him."

Zoro seemed to sense something was wrong, and out the corner of his eye Sanji saw him frown. "Was it anything serious?" the swordsman asked.

Sanji felt a giggle bubble up inside of him, threatening to come out. Anything serious? It was majorly serious. But he wasn't about to tell Zoro that. He'd be dead before Zoro found out about his...Illness.

Sanji gives Zoro a lazy smile, hoping to gods that he doesn't look like he's hiding anything, and leans further into the railing. "Nope, just the flu or something. I wasn't really paying attention."

Zoro looks skeptical for a moment, and Sanji realizes exactly who he's with. Never, not ever, had he willingly smiled like that. Come to think of it, this was their first proper conversation with one another that didn't result in one of them shouting at the other. Well, so far. He blamed Zoro. It was easily all his fault, acting like he actually gave a damn and being all caring and shit. Or as caring as the moss head could possibly get, anyways.

He sees Zoro's mouth press into a firm line, like he's debating whether he should call him out on his lie, or keep it to himself. He instead pushes off the railing and his hands go to his carefully attached swords that sit at his hip. Sanji concludes that he's probably about to leave, thank god. He didn't know how much longer he could take Zoro's sudden 'nice guy' attitude.

"You sure that's all, Cook?"

Sanji nods, not looking at the green haired man but at the still setting sun.

Zoro grunts and turns away, likely off to go train some more before dinner. Sanji follows soon after to make said mentioned dinner before Luffy can come pester him for something to eat.

{*}

Things had begun to fall into a constant routine over the next three weeks for Sanji.

They'd yet to reach another Island, and this only grated on Sanji's nerves. Between his nicotine withdrawal and being forced to tolerate his insane crew, he was convinced that by the time they did reach a new island, he'd already have murdered half the crew (sparing the ladies of course, and maybe Chopper) just for something to do.

His new routine consisted of him waking to a now familiar churning in his stomach and racing to the bathroom to haul up last night's dinner. He'd then watch the sunrise before making breakfast and serving it up to the crew. After that he'd clean up the mess, make Luffy an 'After Breakfast Snack' and clean that up too before moving on to lunch preparations. Then Cleaning. Then Dinner. Then more cleaning, and finally bed. Unless some weird, crazy thing happened to interrupt his schedule, he was living a completely boring lifestyle.

But oddly enough, the only thing that wasn't boring him was the recent development in his nonexistent relationship with the swordsman.

Daily, the green haired man would pay him a visit randomly. It first started off with him visiting the cook for a few minutes a day, before escalating into the guy visiting every two hours or so. With his thin patience, Sanji was surprised he didn't snap sooner.

"What the hell is your problem, Marimo?" He finally cracked one day. He was preparing for lunch, setting out the ingredients and measuring them carefully whilst the swordsman sat backwards on a dining room chair, lazily watching the cook go about his routine.

Zoro's lips pulled into a low scowl and his eyebrows knitted together slightly. His head rested on his arms which were crossed over the back of the chair, which he tilted to the side at the question.

"Huh? What do you mean?" He asked, completely indifferent to Sanji's latest mood swing. He just met Sanji's piercing glare with a bored one of his own.

"I mean, why do you keep visiting me like this?" Sanji waved a hand in the air to gesture the two of them, not caring at all if the moss head heard the exasperation in his voice.

"I didn't think it mattered," Zoro said with a casual light shrug.

Sanji wanted to scream at him. He could actually feel the words bubbling up inside of him, longing to shout and yell and cuss at the idiot before him. He was inwardly seething. Why was he acting like this? Why was he pretending to care? To come visit him like he was lonely or something? Did he still not get that what happened between them was _nothing _and never would be _anything, _regardless of there possibly being a kid involved.

"Well, it does matter!" Sanji snarled and threw the dish cloth he'd been using to dry his hands on the floor, "Every day, you come in and just _sit _there and watch me! Do you have any fucking idea how annoying it is? And what's with the sudden attitude, huh? What, we sleep together once and you think we can become best buddies or something?"

Zoro didn't say anything, he just stared back at him blankly, like he didn't know how he was supposed to react. But that was just it, he shouldn't _have _to think. The dislike should just come naturally, like it did for himself.

Finally, Zoro spoke. "I tried to go back to how it used to be, I really did. But I can't. This isn't something you can just ignore, Sanji. I'm not like that, no matter how horrible you think I am, _I'm not like that._"

He'd said it so curtly, Sanji almost didn't understand what he'd said. He certainly didn't miss the fact that the Marimo had said his name instead of calling him by the usual list of insults.

They just kept glaring at each other, grey-blue eyes meeting a light green one, until Luffy rocketed himself into the room.

"Meat!" He shouted, completely oblivious to what he'd walked in on and racing over to where the cook stood, "Sanji, meat!"

At the sound of the door opening, they'd already looked away. Zoro got up from his chair and left without the captain even noticing that he was there at all.

Lucky Bastard.

"When's lunch going to be ready? I'm starving!" Luffy complained, tugging on Sanji's sleeve in a childlike fashion. It took all of Sanji's remaining self-restraint not to shove him off.

"You just ate, go find someone else to annoy." Sanji grumbled and turned back to the previously forgotten food.

"But that was _hours _ago, I need food now!" Luffy whined and stretched himself over to Zoro's abandoned chair, sitting in it exactly the same way the swordsman had.

"Just go distract yourself for a few hours and it'll be ready soon. Geeze, are you always this annoying?"

He reached for a knife and began cutting up the meat he'd selected into carefully even cuts. As he worked, he felt the captain's eyes watching him

"Ne, Sanji, how come you're so grumpy these days, huh?" Luffy chatted while picking his nose absentmindedly, "Did I do something bad?"

Sanji ran a hand through his hair and resumed slicing, "No, but I'm not in a great mood. So it'd probably be better if you left before I use this knife to cut you into tiny little pieces and use you to make rubber stew."

The light that drifted in through the window highlighted Luffy's slightly put out expression as the nineteen year old tilted his head slightly to the side.

"Nah, I think something's wrong. Oh! I remember now, Chopper said he wanted to see you after lunch! Something about a checkup..." Luffy then rambled off about how they'd be arriving to their next island soon, and how he wanted Sanji to gather as much meat as possible.

Sanji only listened to the last bit of it half-heartedly. Truth be told, he'd frozen in his cooking process when Luffy mentioned the doctor wanting to see him. That could only mean one thing, and he certainly wasn't going to like it.

"...and see if you can get that same meat we had last time for dinner, okay? I really, really liked that one. It tasted great!" Luffy continued on, swinging his legs out beside of him in a child-like fashion, again completely unaware of the effect of his words.

"Sure, Captain." Sanji told him, and felt relieved when his captain announced he was off to go find Usopp, leaving the cook alone with his food.

Well, as alone as a pregnant man could get.

{*}

He sat on the white crisp bed sheets of the infirmary's single bed with both his shoes and shirt off. Chopper sat in his swivel chair, looking down on what Sanji could only guess was he doctor's own notes.

"I know you still don't believe me, Sanji, but I'm going to inform you of what's happening anyways." Chopper told him without looking up. Sanji didn't even feel like complaining any more. He just wanted it over, so all he did was nod.

"From what I can tell, you're roughly six weeks." Chopper went on, big eyes flicking over at Sanji's exposed stomach as he said it. Ever since the doctor had told him he was pregnant, Sanji had kept a constant eye on his stomach. So far, there was nothing except for the slightest bump imaginable. It was only because Sanji knew his own body so well that he could see it. But Chopper's eyes made him guess that perhaps the doctor could see it too, and he wasn't just imagining things.

"This is called the embryonic stage of the pregnancy, which starts at implantation and ends at the eighth week. It's characterized by cell differentiation, which basically means that the cells start taking on specialized rolls like heart cells and skin cells, even bone cells." Chopper met his eyes and smiled happily, "By now, your baby is the size of a sweet pea!"

Sanji cringed at these words and shifted his weight awkwardly on the bed, "Chopper, don't call it that."

Chopper's little face fell into a frown, "Why? That's what human's call their offspring, right?"

The innocent question caught him off guard. He supposed that by actively calling it a baby meant that it was real, and that he really was pregnant.

"Because, I'm not pregnant." He said lamely, looking over the wall behind Chopper's head and tried to distract himself by reading the bright posters that covered the wall.

"Deny it all you want, Sanji. Sooner or later you're going to have to realize that you are pregnant. And I hope for your sake that you realize it before you're going into labor, idiot." Chopper scolded unsympathetically. The reindeer hopped down from his chair and went over to his desk where he extracted a bottle.

"A good doctor is always prepared for everything," Chopper told him light heartedly, pressing the bottle into Sanji's hands before he could pull his shirt back on.

"What's this?" He questioned skeptically, studying the white bottle for more information.

"It's pregnancy vitamins containing Folate, Iodine, Iron and Calcium. These are the essentials during pregnancy because they reduce the risk of neural tube defects like-"

"Okay, okay, I don't need a medical lecture, Chopper." Sanji broke in while tugging on his white shirt. "And I don't need these vitamins either. I'm not pregnant."

Chopper didn't appear fazed by this, however. "Just take them anyways, even if you think you aren't. You'll regret it later if you don't."

As much as he didn't want to admit it, Chopper was right. Even if there was a chance that he could be pregnant...

So when he left the little infirmary, he kept a closed fist around the bottle in his black slack's pocket.

{*}

**I honestly did not expect such a large responce to my last chapter! You guys are amazing.**

**Thanks heaps to anyone who Reviewed, Favourited and/or Followed.**

**Fun Fact about this chapter: I spent hours looking up the Thousand Sunny Blueprints to try and get an accurate description of it's rooms. Something I probably should have done in the last chapter...**

**Until next time guys!**


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